Australia employs 'straddle' diplomacy with China and the US
James Curran

Australia in Our Region

Australia employs 'straddle' diplomacy with China and the US

The approach is not doctrinal, but is about speaking frankly to both Washington and Beijing.

'Unequivocal': Israeli human rights orgs describe Gaza assault as 'genocide' for the first time
Stephen Prager

'Unequivocal': Israeli human rights orgs describe Gaza assault as 'genocide' for the first time

Genocide is never supposed to happen, said the executive director of B'Tselem, one of Israel's leading human rights groups. Not here. Not anywhere. Not at all.

Roundtable warning: When they say ‘modelling’ grab your bulldust detector
Ross Gittins

Roundtable warning: When they say ‘modelling’ grab your bulldust detector

The warm-up for next month’s three-day economic roundtable has begun, and this week we’ll start hearing from worthies who know exactly what we should do to improve our productivity. What’s more, they have the modelling to prove it.


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Silencing the mandate: US sanctions on Francesca Albanese a symbol of international law’s twilight
Richard Falk,  Chandra Muzaffar,  Joseph Camilleri

Silencing the mandate: US sanctions on Francesca Albanese a symbol of international law’s twilight

Imagine a scene worthy of Orwell’s worst nightmare: a United Nations envoy, appointed to report on human rights violations, excellently performing in her job despite formidable difficulties, and met with sanctions by one of the world’s most powerful nations. But this isn’t satire; it’s July 2025.

Top Australian writers urge Albanese to abolish Job-Ready Graduates, calling their humanities degrees life-changing
Caitlin Macdonald

Top Australian writers urge Albanese to abolish Job-Ready Graduates, calling their humanities degrees life-changing

“Earning a humanities degree was not only life-changing, in terms of opening up a world of knowledge otherwise beyond my reach, it also turns out to have been enormously productive – for me and many, many people around me,” said Tim Winton this week. “My little arts degree has created jobs and cultural value for over 40 years.”

Thai-Cambodia clash and the Thai military’s short leash
Damien Kingsbury

Thai-Cambodia clash and the Thai military’s short leash

The flare-up in fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in the Dangrek Ranges reflects a longstanding disagreement about border demarcation.

No Indonesian high-speed rail wizardry for Oz
Duncan Graham

No Indonesian high-speed rail wizardry for Oz

When PM Anthony Albanese was flying home after six days in Beijing, the Great Wall and a panda zoo, he  told  a newspaper that “Australia could learn from China’s fast-rail network. The People's Republic already has more than 45,000 kilometres of high-speed rail connecting 500 cities. We have zilch.

The essential reader on Donald Trump
Michael Edesess

Review

The essential reader on Donald Trump

To learn the whole dreadful story of Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the presidency, one could not do better than to read Thom Hartmann’s forthcoming book, “The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink”.

LDP’s historic electoral defeat upends Japan’s politics
Purnendra Jain

LDP’s historic electoral defeat upends Japan’s politics

Japan’s political landscape changed significantly on 20 July 2025 with the triennial upper house elections delivering a stinging blow to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, Komeito.

International law not only abused – but abandoned
Raghid Nahhas

International law not only abused – but abandoned

As the world watches the destruction of Gaza unfold in real time, the legitimacy of international law faces a crisis more profound than any it has seen since its post-WWII codification.

Guilty of the 'crime' of being Palestinian. Punishment: execution
Robert Fantina

Guilty of the 'crime' of being Palestinian. Punishment: execution

My long solidarity with Palestine and Palestinians is well-known. I have written two books and countless articles on this topic, and have spoken publicly about it for years.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

'Unequivocal': Israeli human rights orgs describe Gaza assault as 'genocide' for the first time
Stephen Prager

'Unequivocal': Israeli human rights orgs describe Gaza assault as 'genocide' for the first time

Genocide is never supposed to happen, said the executive director of B'Tselem, one of Israel's leading human rights groups. Not here. Not anywhere. Not at all.

Silencing the mandate: US sanctions on Francesca Albanese a symbol of international law’s twilight
Richard Falk,  Chandra Muzaffar,  Joseph Camilleri

Silencing the mandate: US sanctions on Francesca Albanese a symbol of international law’s twilight

Imagine a scene worthy of Orwell’s worst nightmare: a United Nations envoy, appointed to report on human rights violations, excellently performing in her job despite formidable difficulties, and met with sanctions by one of the world’s most powerful nations. But this isn’t satire; it’s July 2025.

International law not only abused – but abandoned
Raghid Nahhas

International law not only abused – but abandoned

As the world watches the destruction of Gaza unfold in real time, the legitimacy of international law faces a crisis more profound than any it has seen since its post-WWII codification.

Guilty of the 'crime' of being Palestinian. Punishment: execution
Robert Fantina

Guilty of the 'crime' of being Palestinian. Punishment: execution

My long solidarity with Palestine and Palestinians is well-known. I have written two books and countless articles on this topic, and have spoken publicly about it for years.

Mass Palestinian starvation used as a weapon of war – Bob Carr
Bob Carr

Mass Palestinian starvation used as a weapon of war – Bob Carr

Former Foreign Minister and NSW Premier Bob Carr has compared the situation in Gaza with the Warsaw Ghetto, and urged the Government to move with the French on Palestinian statehood. He made his comments in an interview with ABC Radio National Breakfast host Sally Sara.

'Everything beautiful in their lives is gone': US physicians read aloud the searing testimony of desperate doctors and patients in Gaza
Linda Pentz Gunter

'Everything beautiful in their lives is gone': US physicians read aloud the searing testimony of desperate doctors and patients in Gaza

“I have a cold. And in one hour, I’ll have finished a 24-hour shift, heartbroken again. I lost a cardiac patient because we had no medication.

Activists read out names of 17,000 Palestinian children killed by Israel in Gaza
Brianna Boecker

Activists read out names of 17,000 Palestinian children killed by Israel in Gaza

The names of the 17,000 Palestinian children who have been killed in Gaza by Israel over the past 22 months were read aloud outside Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.

Israeli Knesset hosts conference on plan to 'Occupy Gaza' and 'Relocate Gazans'
Stephen Prager

Israeli Knesset hosts conference on plan to 'Occupy Gaza' and 'Relocate Gazans'

There is a purpose to this war, and it’s a criminal one, wrote Israeli journalist Gideon Levy in Haaretz this past weekend.


John Menadue's book on Israel's war against Gaza

Israel's war against Gaza

Media coverage of the war in Gaza since October 2023 has spread a series of lies propagated by Israel and the United States. This publication presents information, analysis, clarification, views and perspectives largely unavailable in mainstream media in Australia and elsewhere.

Download the PDF

Latest on China

Australia employs 'straddle' diplomacy with China and the US
James Curran

Australia in Our Region

Australia employs 'straddle' diplomacy with China and the US

The approach is not doctrinal, but is about speaking frankly to both Washington and Beijing.

How Chinese diaspora voters reshape Australian and US politics
Wanning Sun

How Chinese diaspora voters reshape Australian and US politics

Chinese diaspora communities in Australia and the US both face racism and loyalty suspicions under China threat narratives, yet their voting has diverged.

The future of surveillance tech is already here – in the US, not China
Alex Lo

The future of surveillance tech is already here – in the US, not China

Chinese citizens enjoy public safety in exchange for compromised privacy. In the United States, people are facing an increasingly unchecked state.


John Menadue

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Latest letters to the editor

Tide turning on government climate accountability

Ray Peck — Hawthorn

In 2013, Dutch environmental group Urgenda and 900 citizens sued their government to force stronger climate action. In 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled the government had a legal duty to cut emissions by at least 25% by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. Since then, similar attempts in Australia — by eight children and two Torres Strait Elders — have failed. In both cases, judges said it was for governments, not courts, to act. But the legal tide may be turning. The International Court of Justice recently issued only its fifth-ever unanimous advisory opinion, declaring that all nations...
It’s not about getting re-elected

Bob Pearce — Adelaide SA

The one point missing from this article is that Sussan Ley is a woman. A woman surrounded by old, white, male dinosaurs. As we saw when Julia Gillard was leader of the Labor Party, there was a lack of support for her, none of the old Union “one out, all out“ mentality. Long after the unions had abandoned their “once they're married, they should stay home and look after the kids“ position of the 1950s, the party allowed Tony Abbott to ambush her without the support they would have given even a prime minister from a different faction. Even...
A job in the humanities

Dally Messenger — DOCKLANDS

Gareth Evans, as usual, touches a nerve. Universities often claim they are cancelling humanities courses to focus on programs that lead directly to employment. But this is misleading. Humanities enrich every kind of work. In some professions, they are not just relevant – they are essential. One such profession is that of the civil celebrant. Celebrants must be skilled in public speaking and creative writing and possess a deep understanding of human nature. Their work draws on music, literature, poetry, story creation, storytelling, choreography, and symbolism – all core components of the humanities. Ceremonies are fundamental to...
Ley must be saved from drowning under Waterford

Stephen Saunders — O'Connor

Matt Kean’s UN climate-guru Simon Stiell is swanning around Australia again. Claiming his “blueprint” can unleash “colossal” rewards to “protect” workers. They and Jack Waterford badger Sussan Ley. Embrace the “science” of “net zero” or else. Yet all the graphs confirm that population, GDP, consumption, emissions, CO2 levels, and land/sea temperatures are all growing. That the emissions of this perpetual-growth can miraculously “net” to zero is vanity not science – no friend of workers or equality. No brake on Australia's perpetual war-on-the-environment. Despite easily-protected borders and untold energy-riches, Australia delivers extreme population pressures, very high energy prices, and...



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Ivory Coast’s president says will seek fourth term in office
Alassane Ouattara, 83, announced the plan after changing the constitution to remove presidential term limits.
Trump administration moves to nix key finding on greenhouse gas emissions
EPA head Lee Zeldin has framed the rollback as necessary to axe regulations and ensure the US's continued prosperity.
Union Pacific to buy Norfolk Southern for $85bn
The deal, which would build first coast-to-coast freight rail, could take up to two years to complete amid scrutiny.
Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene decries ‘genocide’ in Gaza
Right-wing congresswoman condemns the 'starvation happening in Gaza' as she criticises pro-Israel colleague Randy Fine.
Procter and Gamble to raise prices to offset tariff costs
The world’s largest consumer goods maker said it will have to raise prices on a quarter of its products starting August.
Starmer says UK will soon recognise Palestine unless Israel halts Gaza war
PM says Israel must take major steps in coming weeks or the UK will make its move ahead of UNGA in September.